Toon Link (SSBU): Difference between revisions

|image = [[File:Toon Link SSBU.png|250px]]

|ranking = 49

Toon Link is ranked 49th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the B- tier. This is a noticeable drop from his 23rd out of 54 placement in ''SSB4'' and is his worst placement in the series.

Toon Link is a [[weight|middleweight]], yet boasts above-average [[dash]]ing speed and [[air acceleration]], as well as the ability to [[wall jump]]. However, his [[air speed]] is average and his [[falling speed|falling]] and [[fast fall]]ing speeds are both slow, while his [[gravity]] is low. Although they differ on the majority of their attributes, Toon Link and {{SSBU|Link}} both have above-average [[walk]]ing speeds. Like Link, he also wields his respective version of the {{s|zeldawiki|Master Sword}} and possesses two [[shield]]s, instead of just one. The Master Sword grants Toon Link disjointed range, while the [[Passive shield|Hero's Shield]] blocks opposing [[projectile]]s if he is standing still or walking. Overall, Toon Link's attributes render him as a fairly quick, yet fairly [[Falling speed#Floaty|floaty]] character.

However, Toon Link has some weaknesses. His grab game is overall very polarized: [[Hookshot]] grants him long-lasting grabs that can grab airborne opponents, and a [[grab aerial]] and [[tether recovery]] that are both very useful, yet his grabs have considerable start-up and ending lag (albeit much less so than in previous installments). By extension, Toon Link's back throw is one of his most viable KO options due to being one of the strongest back throws in the game, while his forward throw is decent for setting up edge-guards and creating space. Conversely, Toon Link's down throw lacks combo potential, which makes it drastically inferior to Link and Young Link's versions. Although Toon Link's up throw is a situational KO option on platforms like Link and Young Link's versions, his back throw utterly outclasses it in this role. As a result, Toon Link's up and down throws are used primarily for setting up aerial pressure, such as by launching an opponent into the trajectory of a previously thrown Boomerang or Bomb.

Toon Link is a zoner character, as his long-distance projectiles make him play somewhat defensively for much of the match, and [[camp]] with projectiles. Toon Link was initially thought to fare worse in competitive play than in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'' due to the changes and other veterans being buffed to varying degrees, with most top professionals ranking him as a mid-tier, and usually lower than Link and Young Link. However, as the metagame has progressed, many dedicated Toon Link professionals such as {{Sm|Hyuga}}, {{Sm|Ri-ma}}, {{Sm|Sigma}}, {{Sm|Tsuna|p=Germany}} and {{Sm|Xcal}} have seen some strong results with him; as a result, opinions of him have been more positive than before, with most professionals now ranking him closer to the other two Links, and potentially as a high tier character once more.

 

Toon Link is overall a very balanced and fast fighter with a plethora of attack options via his projectiles, tether grab/recovery, and decent frame data. The combination of low ending lag on his forward and back aerials with his slow fall speed allow Toon Link to dominate in the air with combos, while his moderately fast yet fairly useful tilt attacks and reasonably strong smash attacks allow for relatively easy KOs. While his middling weight and slow falling speed make him easier to combo and KO, it is generally agreed that Toon Link's strengths outweigh his weaknesses by a fair margin.

Toon Link has received a notable mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate''. Many of his standard attacks have been improved, but the general pace of ''Ultimate'', combined with the worsening of his camping tools, seem to counterbalance this. As a result, it's difficult to determine whether Toon Link has been buffed or nerfed overall.

Several of Toon Link's attacks where he uses the Master Sword have been notably improved, alleviating one of his weaker points from ''SSB4''. Particularly, Toon Link now boasts a vastly buffed ground game compared to ''SSB4'': [[neutral attack]]'s first two hits can now lock, and the third hit now has the tech-chasing ability his adult counterpart has. [[Forward tilt]] has less ending lag and all hitboxes send opponents in front of him. The changes to the [[Sakurai angle]] allow [[down tilt]] to launch aerial opponents lower, improving its tech chasing potential. [[Dash attack]] is much faster, has more range and less endlag, and the sweetspots out-prioritize the sourspot. [[Up smash]] is more consistent on landing the sweetspot, whereas [[down smash]] now has consistent KO potential on both sides of the move instead of pulling opponents into a second hit.

Toon Link's air game, while seeing less buffs, has also become more useful; additionally, his [[neutral aerial]] has more range, [[forward aerial]] can once again autocancel if performed in a short hop, [[back aerial]] is faster and has regained some of its combo potential, and [[up aerial]] is notably much safer to use due to its altered animation. Finally, Toon Link's Spin Attack has received the most improvements, with the grounded version now being one of the best out of shield options in the game due to it being much faster and gaining KO potential, whereas the aerial version's power and safety have both improved.

However, Toon Link also received some noticeable nerfs. One of his biggest nerfs was to his [[forward smash]]; the move no longer has a second hit, while its single hit instead is slightly slower, has a much lower damage potential, possesses no mixup or spacing potential, and has a debatably worse hitbox that fails to strike short opponents or ones hanging on an edge. His other major nerf was to his Bombs, which no longer beat weak projectiles and continue on, instead bouncing off of them; this massively worsens their potential in trade and projectile situations. Other nerfs to his [[camping]] ability include his item throws having more ending lag, which worsens his combo game via his Bombs; and his grab aerial now bouncing off of the first projectile or hurtbox it makes contact with, instead of piercing through. Aside from forward smash, a few of his sword-based moves also received some nerfs. Up tilt has slightly inferior combo potential at high percentages due to the changes to knockback, up smash has fewer active frames, and back aerial's already minimal KO potential has been almost totally removed in favor of somewhat restoring its combo potential.

The universal changes to gameplay mechanics are overall mixed for Toon Link. The reduced landing lag makes it easier for him to combo, and safer to land if his aerials hit. The ability to [[Dash-canceling|use any attack out of a run]] also allows Toon Link more access to his now respectable grounded game. On the other hand, the changes to [[shieldstun]] make his grounded moveset much safer, though it also means shielding opponents are now more likely to punish mispaced aerials as easily. The nerfs to shield grabbing alleviate the negative changes from shieldstun, but combined with other characters also having reduced landing lag, and the changes to shieldstun, this notably worsens his grab game, despite his grabs' much lower ending lag. Finally, the universal increase to mobility further contributes to Toon Link's grounded game (due to his faster [[walk]]ing and [[dash]]ing speeds) and improves his camping ability if he has the advantage (despite his worsened grab aerial and Bombs), but also allows more mobile opponents to close in on the distance to him and/or stay away from him easier.

Overall, both Toon Link's buffs and nerfs are equally notable, as while he has much more utility in his sword-based attacks, his worsened camping tools and the faster pace of ''Ultimate'' makes his defensive, projectile-based game less effective compared to previous titles. This noticeably changes his playstyle, shifting from primarily a zoner and counter-zoner, to a more movement and pressure-based playstyle that utilizes his sword attacks more. Toon Link was initially thought to fare worse in competitive play than in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'' due to the changes and other veterans being buffed to varying degrees, with most top professionals ranking him as a mid-tier, and usually lower than the two other Links. However, as the metagame has progressed, many dedicated Toon Link professionals such as {{Sm|Hyuga}}, {{Sm|Ri-ma}}, {{Sm|Sigma}}, {{Sm|Tsuna|p=Germany}} and {{Sm|Xcal}} have seen some strong results with him; as a result, opinions of him have been more positive than before, with most professionals now ranking him closer to the other two Links, and potentially as a high-tier character once more.

Starting with update 2.0.0, Toon Link's forward aerial can now auto-cancel out of a short hop, greatly buffing the move's utility and offense. His also can now grab the ledge earlier after using his back aerial. Update 3.0.0 nerfed Boomerang's shield damage as a part of a universal nerf to projectiles. Update 3.1.0 made neutral attack connect better, and Toon Link can now shield SDI if a projectiles hits his Hero's Shield thanks to update 4.0.0.

Update 7.0.0 brought the most noteworthy buffs to Toon Link's kit. His dash attack was given less ending lag, both hits of his down smash now deal more knockback, his back aerial now hits earlier and has a slightly longer hitbox duration. His down aerial is now drastically stronger than it was before due to it now dealing more damage and not having its knockback not fully compensated. And finally, his grab aerial's hitbox lasts 2 frames longer. Due to these changes, Toon Link's KO potential and spacing was greatly improved.

Overall, Toon Link fares better than he did at the launch of ''Ultimate''.

|dashdesc= A lunging outward slash. It has fast startup at frame 7 and very little ending lag (19 frames), making it safe on shield despite its lack of shieldstun and useful for catching landings. However, it has a sourspot on Toon Link's arm that deals less damage

|fsmashdesc=Winds up and then performs an upward slash. Moves Toon Link slightly forwards. The duration of this move's hitbox is deceptively shorter that the duration of the swing (frames 8 and 9). As such, the move's range is also deceptively short and will fail to damage those above Toon Link beginning at frame 10.

|usmashdesc=A hopping, overhead arcing slash. Can hit behind Toon Link.

|dsmashdesc=A kneeling inward slash in front of himself, followed by a kneeling outward slash behind himself.

|bairdesc=Turns around and performs an upward slash behind himself. Almost identical to forward aerial, but trades power for faster startup, being tied with neutral aerial for the fastest startup of his aerials, at frame 6. Its very low base knockback, high knockback growth, and ability to autocancel with a short hop make it a fairly good option for combos.

|dairdesc=A [[stall-then-fall]] version of the {{iw|zeldawiki|Down Thrust}}. Resembles his final strike to Ganondorf's head in ''The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker''. Has a powerful meteor smash at the start of the descent, and weak [[windbox]]es on landing, while also having a small hitbox that deals 5% when Toon Link takes out the Master Sword. Extremely risky to use offstage, as it has a long duration and Toon Link will not bounce off of any opponents he hits.

|fthrowdesc=A shoulder tackle. Deals collateral damage to bystanders. Its moderate knockback makes it a decent option for setting up edgeguards and creating space.

|dsdesc=Pulls out a {{iw|zeldawiki|Bomb}}. Arguably Toon Link's best combo starter, it grants him a number of follow-ups at varying percentages. With precise usage, it can be followed up with up smash or forward aerial for a potential KO confirm, even at high percentages.

*Looks around cautiously

*Taps his foot on the ground

SSBUToonLinkIdle1.gif|Toon Link's first idle pose

SSBUToonLinkIdle2.gif|Toon Link's second idle pose

*{{Sm|Ang|Mexico}} - One of the best Toon Link players in Mexico. Placed 5th at {{Trn|BIT MASTER MTY 3rd IMPACT}}, 9th at both {{Trn|BIT MASTER MTY 6}} and {{Trn|Delfino Maza 2}}, and 17th at {{Trn|WeTecThose 9}} with wins over players like {{Sm|Bedgar}}, {{Sm|CK}}, and {{Sm|Wonf}}. Currently ranked 25th on the [[Mexican Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Hyuga|Mexico}} - One of the best Toon Link players in Mexico. Placed 5th at {{Trn|Ragnarok}}, {{Trn|Encuentro Mítico}}, {{Trn|WeTecThose 9}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}} with wins over {{Sm|Chag}}, {{Sm|Javi}}, and {{Sm|Yei}}. Currently ranked 6th on the [[Mexican Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Lv.1|Japan}} - One of the best active Toon Link players in the world. Placed 5th at {{Trn|Umebura SP 7}}, 7th at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 5}}, 9th at both {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 6}} and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 10}}, and 49th at {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}}. Currently ranked 31st on the [[Japan Player Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Manzoku|Japan}} - One of the best Toon Link players in Japan. Placed 5th at {{Trn|Seibugeki 8}}, 9th at both {{Trn|Karisuma SP 4}} and {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 4}}, 13th at {{Trn|Kagaribi}} and 33rd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}} with wins over {{Sm|Shuton}}, {{Sm|Shirayuki}}, and {{Sm|Etsuji}}. Currently ranked 90th on the [[Japan Player Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Sigma|Japan}} - The best Toon Link player in the world. Placed 1st at both {{Trn|Karisuma SP 5}} and {{Trn|Karisuma SP 6}}, 3rd at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 12}}, 5th at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 7}}, 13th at {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}}, and 17th at {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}}. Has wins over {{Sm|HIKARU}}, {{Sm|komorikiri}}, and {{Sm|ZAKI}}. Currently ranked 23rd on the [[Japan Player Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Xcal|Canada}} - The best Toon Link player in North America. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Frostfire 2020}}, 3rd at {{Trn|Polybash 2019}}, 5th at {{Trn|DreamHack Montreal 2019}}, and 7th at {{Trn|Rising Stars at EGLX 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Blacktwins}}, {{Sm|Jw}}, and {{Sm|Venom}}. Currently ranked 13th on the [[Smash Canada Rankings Ultimate]].

*Toon Link is the only {{uv|Zelda}} character playable in ''Ultimate'' who:

**Shares his Final Smash with [[Young Link (SSBU)|another character]].

**Did not receive a new or updated Final Smash.

**Did not receive any kind of redesign in his appearance.

**Did not have his [[Palutena's Guidance]] conversation changed.

**Did not receive any new voice clips.

**Did not receive any new or changed [[alternate costume]]s.

**Is not the main opponent of a Legend-class Spirit Battle in his series and in general.

*Toon Link is the only character who travels to [[3D Land]] in Classic Mode.

*Toon Link and {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}} are the only characters who gain a CPU ally in every round of their Classic Mode (excluding the Bonus Game).

*Toon Link is one of five characters whose unlocking battle in World of Light is not on either Final Destination or a Ω form. The other four are [[Peach]], [[Daisy]], [[King K. Rool]], and [[Mii Gunner]].

*While holding a small item, Toon Link reuses his facial expressions from ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'' in his idle animation.

*Despite Toon Link's down aerial no longer bouncing off opponents, his character files still have data for the 8% damage hitbox used after a bounce, which is labeled as "AttackAirLw2Attack". This was also the case in ''Smash 4''.

*Toon Link is the only variant of Link in ''Ultimate'' whose design does not potentially expose his knees, like either Link (when wearing his Wild set-based alternate costume) or Young Link (outside of his light blue costume, which gives him beige trousers).

*In his ''Ultimate'' trailer, his sword attacks use punching sounds when they hit: this is different from the actual game, where they use slashing sounds.

*In [[World of Light]], Toon Link is one of the few fighters who is not affiliated with [[Dharkon]] in any way, as all of his encounters as himself or as a puppet fighter are all in association with [[Galeem]]. {{SSBU|Ness}}, {{SSBU|Roy}}, {{SSBU|Olimar}}, {{SSBU|Wii Fit Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Little Mac}}, {{SSBU|Squirtle}}, {{SSBU|Ivysaur}}, {{SSBU|Mii Gunner}}, and {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} all share this distinction as well.

*When using his up taunt and in one of his victory screens, Toon Link appears to conduct the Wind’s Requiem with the Wind Waker, which is the first song Link learns in ''The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker''.